Marta Topferova
"La Marea (The Tide)" (World Village)
By Elio Leturia, Free Press staff writer
You wouldn't expect an artist with a last name like Topferova to sing Latino music, but Marta Topferova, who was born in the former Czechoslovakia, defies expectations. Topferova, based in New York City, sings in flawless Spanish, composes her own music and writes her own lyrics on her second album. She is classically trained, but her style can be described as Latino urban folk. The 10 tracks on "La Marea" are inspired by an array of Latino influences, including the bolero ("Grano de arena") and the bossa nova ("Manana Nevada"). The cuatro, a four-string guitar from Venezuela, is among Topferova's favorite instruments, and she plays it with virtuosity.
Her voice is reflective and restrained, but in a deep and poetic way. Her lyrics are rather existential and deal with the search for purpose in life, love in turmoil, or simple events in the urban setting. "Island with a profile of skyscrapers/ Two rivers embrace you/ That are running like me/ They to the sea, but I, where to?" tell us about her life in "The Big Apple," the city where Topferova feels she can bring her music to life.